CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The UPEI Panthers have earned another game and are looking for more.
After missing the 2018 Atlantic University Sport (AUS) men’s soccer championship, the Panthers have their ticket to this year’s dance and are looking to extend their stay.
The Lewis Page-coached Panthers begin their post-season journey tonight against the UNB Reds in Sydney, N.S., in quarter-final action.
“A lot of guys worked hard this off-season and Lewis brought in some good guys, so we’re going back there and we’re going to make some noise,” fifth-year keeper Brett Strba said.
Page said he is “super proud” of how his players responded after last season, showing they belong in the top part of the 10-team conference.
“Now it’s about getting results in the playoffs. We’re not satisfied with what we have done,” he said. “We want to go to the next level.”
The players were having fun at Tuesday’s practice, getting the chance to continue training together on a late afternoon at the end of October as the sun set.
The Panthers seemed loose, but ready for what awaited them.
“You could tell that from the last game, a lot of the boys are really enjoying their footy lately,” said Josh McKillop, a fourth-year fullback.
“We’re just trying to enjoy the last bit of soccer we have left, especially the fifth-year guys,” added senior centre back Jake Deighan. “We know this is the last week, hopefully week-and-a-half.”
The Panthers will need to win twice to get a berth in Sunday’s final. If they do, they will qualify for the U Sports championship in Montreal from Nov. 7-10.
But first they will have to do something this group of Panthers has never done.
“We haven’t beaten (UNB) in the regular season in our five years, so that’s another motivation for us – to finally get that win against them that has been eluding us,” Deighan said. “It’s not going to be hard to get up for that one.”
The Reds are 7-0-1 against the Panthers since 2015. Six of the games were decided by two goals or less with three of the losses being 1-0 decisions.
UNB defeated UPEI 3-0 on Sept. 15 in Fredericton, N.B., and 2-1 on Oct. 6 in Charlottetown, scoring the winner in the final minute.
Page said the Panthers respect the Reds as one of the conference’s top teams, but feel they underperformed against them this season. They will need to play with intensity, speed and aggression in order to be successful tonight.
The Reds (7-3-2) are the third seed and the Panthers (5-5-2) are the sixth-placed team, but the seedings mean little at this time of the year other than what two teams get the bye into Friday’s semifinals.
“Everybody has a clean slate once the playoffs start, so getting there is the real key and then anything can happen once we’re there,” Deighan said.
The Panthers have battled adversity this season with key guys missing time due to injuries. But the team didn't use it as an excuse to not achieve its first goal of making the playoffs.
“It just shows the resilience of our guys,” Deighan said.
The team received good news this week with centre back Lucas Ross, another fifth-year player, being cleared to play.
The team left Wednesday for Cape Breton, which will be a homecoming for McKillop.
“It was pretty unfortunate that we didn't get to go last year so the boys are really excited for this year,” the 21-year-old Sydney native said, noting he will have family and friends in the stands cheering him and his teammates on. “I’m probably the most excited of everyone.”
Schedule
A look at the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) soccer championship schedule for this week in Sydney, N.S.
Today
Quarterfinals
Women
UNB (5) vs. Dalhousie (4), 11:30 a.m.
Memorial (6) vs. St. FX (3), 4:30 p.m.
Men
Saint Mary's (5) vs. Dalhousie (4), 2 p.m.
UPEI (6) vs. UNB (3), 7 p.m.
Friday
Semifinals
Women
UNB-Dalhousie winner vs. Acadia (1), 11:30 a.m.
Memorial-St. FX winner vs. Cape Breton (2), 4:30 p.m.
Men
Saint Mary’s-Dalhousie winner vs. Cape Breton (1), 2 p.m.
UPEI-UNB winner vs. St. FX (2), 7 p.m.
Sunday
Finals
Women’s championship, 1 p.m.
Men’s championship, 4 p.m.
On the line – A conference title and a trip to the nationals. The AUS has two berths in the U Sports men’s and women’s championships that will take place Nov. 7-10 in Montreal and Victoria, B.C., respectively.
Did you know? All games will be televised live on Bell Aliant’s Fibe TV1 and via webcast at www.AUStv.ca.
Awards – The conference announced its major award winners on Wednesday. Stratford forward Sam Smiley, a fifth-year UPEI Panther, was named to the men’s first all-star team.
Panther play
This week’s UPEI Panthers action.
Today
Men’s soccer
7 p.m. – UPEI vs. UNB at Cape Breton University in quarter-final.
Friday
Men’s lacrosse
5 p.m. – UPEI at Dalhousie in quarter-final.
Women’s basketball
6 p.m. – Saint Mary’s at UPEI in home opener.
Men’s hockey
7 p.m. – UPEI at Moncton.
Men’s basketball
8 p.m. – Saint Mary’s at UPEI in home opener.
Saturday
Women’s hockey
3 p.m. – Mount Allison at UPEI.
Women’s basketball
6 p.m. – Saint Mary’s at UPEI.
Men’s hockey
7 p.m. – UPEI at UNB.
Men’s basketball
8 p.m. – Saint Mary’s at UPEI.
Sunday
Women’s hockey
2 p.m. – UNB at UPEI.
Men’s rugby
2 p.m. – UPEI at UNB in final.
